


A Moment of Peace

by ZellieAlmasy



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Headaches & Migraines, Lyrium Withdrawal, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-12
Updated: 2015-07-12
Packaged: 2018-04-08 22:29:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4323219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZellieAlmasy/pseuds/ZellieAlmasy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Desperate for a moment alone, Cullen retreats to Skyhold's shrine to Andraste, but is surprised to find he isn't as alone as he originally thinks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Moment of Peace

Cullen’s head pounded as he stood at the war table, assisting Trevelyan with her plans to assault Suledin Keep in the Emprise du Lion. The others would have readily excused him if he needed to lie down, but he preferred to keep busy. The extra work was a welcome distraction from these bouts of withdrawal.   
  
This time, however, Cullen’s headache only grew worse and more difficult to ignore. He was determined to at least fight it long enough to see the Inquisitior and her party to the gates.   
  
Finally, as Trevelyan departed, Cullen relented to his withdrawal symptoms and decided to allow himself a moment of rest, for once. Too many people would come to look for him in his office, so Cullen decided to retreat to Skyhold’s small shrine to Andraste. It was a peaceful place, where he expected no one would disturb him.   
  
He approached the statue at the end of the room and lowered himself to one knee as he began to softly mutter a verse from the Canticle of Benedictions, “Blessed are they who stand before the corrupt and the wicked and do not falter. Blessed are the peacekeepers, the champions of the just. Blessed are the righteous, the lights in the shadow. In their blood the Maker’s will is written.”   
  
It was a prayer he had recited often in his life ad a Templar, and although those days were well behind him, Cullen still found comfort and new meaning in those words.   
  
He continued with a heavy sigh, “Maker watch over Inquisitior Trevelyan as she confronts the Red Templars. As always, I pray for her safe return.” It wasn’t necessary to say the words aloud, but Cullen preferred it this way. He could say it all day on his head - in fact, he _has_ been thinking it all day - but it never offered that same sort of comfort and relief as when he spoke the words out loud. “Grant us the courage to stand against evil, that we may protect all of Thedas from Corypheus’ corruption.”   
  
His breath hitched as he felt a particularly strong surge of pain shoot thorough his skull. Cullen clenched his jaw as he continued his prayer with conviction. “Deliver me, Maker, from temptation. The withdrawal grows worse with each passing day. I feel so… inadequate. There’s so much more I could offer to the Inquisition, if I just–”   
  
Cullen buried his face in his hands, taking a slow, shaky breath. It had been so long since he last took any lyrium. He reminded himself of how far he’s come, that he must stay strong. “I can do this,” Cullen whispered to the empty room.   
  
At least, he assumed it had been empty, until a book suddenly fell from behind the statue. Startled by this unusual disturbance, Cullen quickly leapt to his feet, hand resting on the hilt of his sword as he cautiously moved around the statue.   
  
Cullen relaxed once he realized the culprit was only Dorian, who, for some odd reason, managed to create a nest of books for himself behind the statue. From what it looked like, Cullen’s best guess was that Dorian must have shifted just enough to cause one unsteady book to topple out from his hiding place.   
  
“Ah, Commander.” The mage pulled himself to his feet, attempting to act as though nothing were amiss. “Fancy meeting you here.”   
  
Cullen’s forehead wrinkled in irritation. “I take it you heard all of that?” Most of what he said was extremely personal. He would have never spoken the prayers aloud if he knew someone else was in the room.   
  
Dorian realized there was no talking his way out of this one. He had obviously been behind that statue the entire time. It would be ridiculous to try and claim innocence and even worse to try and make light of such a serious issue, so he decided to drop his usual sarcastic façade. “You’ve stopped taking lyrium, haven’t you?” he replied with a worried look.   
  
“Do not mention it to _anybody,_ ” Cullen insisted.   
  
“Please tell me you’ve at least told one other person about this.” There was genuine concern in Dorian’s voice as he spoke. He may not have known exactly what Cullen was going through, but he still knew that some sort of support system was vital to cutting any addiction.   
  
Cullen nodded slowly in response. “Cassandra knows, and I’ve recently told the Inquisitior as well. But that’s all. I’d rather not burden anyone else with this concern.”   
  
“Cullen Rutherford,” Dorian responded with a rare, serious tone that the Commander had never heard before, “you are by no means a burden to any of us. I, for one, am more than happy to offer support in any way I can. For instance…”   
  
The mage settled back down on the ground with his back resting against the base of the statue. “Here. I have just the thing for those headaches of yours.” Dorian patted his lap, gesturing for the other man to lie down.   
  
Unsure whether he ought to go along with this, Cullen hesitated for a moment, but quickly decided that whatever happened couldn’t be worse than the persistent throbbing in his head. He carefully joined Dorian on the floor and rested his head in the mage’s lap, as instructed.   
  
Dorian rested a hand on Cullen’s warm, clammy forehead and slowly conjured a weak ice spell. As Cullen responded with a relieved sigh, Dorian used both hands to delicately rub the Commander’s temples with icy fingers.   
  
“That feels wonderful,” Cullen murmured, allowing his eyes to fall shut.   
  
“You're more than welcome to come to me any time you need instant headache relief.”  
  
Cullen simply replied with a soft hum as he focused on Dorian's touch. As the mage raked his fingers through those thick curls, Cullen slowly felt himself beginning to lose consciousness. For once, Cullen allowed himself this moment of relaxation. Maker knew he was in desperate need of a nap.  
  
When he finally woke up, the sun was low in the sky, barely visible through the stained glass windows. Their primary light source, at this point, was the faint flickering of the tiny candles placed throughout the shrine. Cullen shifted, feeling a bit stiff from falling asleep in his armor, but at least his headache was finally gone. He glanced upwards, a small smile coming to his face as he looked up at Dorian. The mage sat with his head tilted back with a trickle of drool trickling from the corner of his mouth as he slept.  
  
“Dorian...?” No response. Cullen sat up and gently nudged the mage on his knee, repeating his name more loudly.  
  
Finally, Dorian slowly woke up, rubbing the sand from his eyes. “Feeling better, Commander?”  
  
“Yes,” he replied as he started to stand, extending his hand to help Dorian up. “Much better, thank you.”  
  
As Dorian was pulled to his feet, Cullen unintentionally held his hand a bit longer than he should have. Realizing this, he quickly let go and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, blushing softly. Dorian obviously noticed and gave the Commander a sly grin. “As I said before, I will gladly offer my services any time you need.”  
  
Cullen knew Dorian was referring to the headaches, but something in his tone of voice made it seem as though there might be further implication behind that statement. It must only be Cullen's imagination, he reassured himself. Besides, Dorian always liked to flirt, so it was probably meant nothing. His cheeks still turned a deeper shade of pink, though.  
  
Perfectly satisfied with his ability to make the Commander blush, Dorian turned away with a casual wave, “Well then, I should return to the library before someone notices I'm missing and decides to send out a search party.”  
  
Before Dorian could reach the door, Cullen called out to him once more, “Wait. What _were_ you doing hiding behind the statue in the first place?”  
  
“I heard Trevelyan had planned a trip to the Emprise today,” Dorian replied, turning to glance over his shoulder at Cullen with a smirk. “It was the only way I could be certain she wouldn't drag me to that horrible frozen wasteland.”  
  
Cullen rolled his eyes, but couldn't help but chuckle a little at Dorian's answer. The mage was extremely vocal about his distaste for the cold Southern climates. It shouldn't have been such a surprise to see him hiding away to avoid spending what could be weeks in the Emprise du Lion. The Commander knew he shouldn't encourage such behavior, but he was secretly grateful that Dorian remained here at Skyhold – and not just for the headache relief. The mage was always pleasant company, and now that he was one of the three who knew about the lyrium withdrawals, there was no reason to try and spend a bit more time getting to know him a little better.  
  
Later, Cullen decided. They'd have plenty of time for that while the Inquisitor was away. For now, Cullen was certain he'd have plenty of catching up to do on all the work he missed while he was asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Given to me as a prompt! Dorian is hiding for whatever reason, and Cullen decides to hide in the same place. Also I'm still very bad at making titles and will probably apologize every time for how terrible I am, hahaha.


End file.
